Rangers vs Roomies
by Thalion Estel
Summary: Thalion Estel is quite used to visits from her muses. However, her roommates are definitely not acquainted with the experience. What would happen if, say, two of Middle-earth's finest rangers were to suddenly show up at Estel's college and then crash her apartment? A one shot tribute to my roomies.


**Author's Note: While this tale does indeed take place during my time away at college, it is a one shot which is NOT dependent on my story _Conspiracies_. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into my apartment life; please be sure to leave me some feedback!**

 **. . .**

 **Dedicated to my fantastic roommates. Thank you guys for putting up with me and for teaching me so many things during my first year of college. Y'all are the best!**

 **. . .**

To say that Estel was excited was a great understatement. She had been waiting for this day for a long time—since October 15 of last year, to be exact. Now it had finally come, and she was more than eager to buckle down and absorb the glory that would commence in only a few short hours. As soon as her professor dismissed the class at 3:15, Thalion nearly leapt from her seat as she quickly gathered her computer and pencils, shoved them hastily into her backpack, and made for the door.

Despite her anticipation, she had enjoyed her afternoon Romans class. Who knew there could be so many interpretations about Israel in Romans 11? She had been awed anew as her professor explained the design of redemptive history which used hardening and jealousy to accomplish salvation. The fanfiction writer tried to let her mind dwell on those things, but soon she drifted off into her habit of writing everything that happened to her. She was pretty sure she was just starting a pretty good description of the moment when suddenly the peace and order of the day were shattered by the appearance of two familiar faces.

Walking towards her down the wooden hall that led towards the exit was the dynamic duo of Gondor: Aragorn and Faramir. They were dressed not in their royal attire, but in travel stained cloaks as though they were reverting to their ranger days. Estel's feet stopped in their tracks, and her mouth went dry. This could not be happening. Not today of all days.

"Good afternoon," Aragorn greeted kindly, adding an innocent smile to seal his seemingly harmless appearance. Thalion did not fall for it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a low voice as she began moving towards her two muses again, this time glancing back and forth to see if anyone was watching her. Aragorn had no idea what kind of mess he had just walked into.

"We crave an audience with you, if it doesn't cause you any inconvenience," came the reply of the always-polite steward. Estel wanted to roll her eyes, but that is hard to do when facing someone as nice as Faramir.

"Don't you guys know anything about this school?" Thalion hissed in a paranoid whisper. "At least half the people here have read _The Lord of the Rings_ multiple times. One of the professors is basically a Tolkien scholar. You'll be recognized and swarmed for sure! Do you want to spend the next week signing autographs and giving lectures or something?"

Aragorn seemed surprised by this news, but then for a horrible moment, the writer was afraid her muse was actually considering this an entertaining prospect. Faramir didn't say a word, and his expression was unreadable. At last, the ranger of the north (not to be confused with the ranger of Ithilien standing next to him) cracked a small grin and shook his head.

"Now would not be a good time for that," he affirmed. "Shall we adjourn?"

Estel gave a hurried nod before half leading and half pushing her muses towards the exit as quickly as she could. In an attempt to avoid witnesses who might expose the rangers' identity, Thalion led her guests out a back way and briskly brought them to the parking lot.

"Quick," she breathed as they finally reached the shade of the tree that protected Estel's wonderfully faithful vehicle, affectionately known as Nahar.

Faramir squished his tall form into the cramped backseat of the sedan while the writer put her backpack in the trunk. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted two of her roommates nearing their car, and she felt panic seize her. What in the world would they think if they saw her loading two strangers into her vehicle? Hopefully at least for the moment they wouldn't notice—

"Estel!" the older of the two roommates called, her sister also looking up to face the unfortunate writer. "Who's that with you?"

A very fake, anti-calm smile appeared on Thalion's face, and she let out a nervous chuckle as she shot a gaze at Aragon that pleaded for help. The King of Gondor was not yet in the vehicle, so he turned to face the two roomies and waved politely.

"I and my companion are long-time friends of Estel," he said quite regally. "We intend to visit with her this afternoon; perhaps we will become acquainted with you more properly upon our reaching of your dwelling."

So, not only had Aragorn probably blown their minds, but he had also just invited himself over. It took every ounce of self-will for the writer not to face-palm.

"Oh, okay," the girl said, clearly confused. "See you then, I guess." She gave her sister a quizzical look before getting into her own car and starting it up. Estel wondered what their conversation on the way back would sound like.

"Into the car, your highness," Thalion ordered as she sat behind the wheel and jammed her key home. She figured she should be the first one to the apartment, and that meant she would have to beat the others. Not only did the two sisters attend that class, but another roommate would also be coming home at the same time, perhaps emerging from the building any second. Thank the Valar, the final two parties of Estel's apartment would likely be sticking around school for a while, so at least there wouldn't be a crowd right off the bat.

There was no small amount of backseat driving from the rangers as the writer pealed around the curvy roads and got up to the speed limit in as little time as possible after every traffic light. They clearly thought they could navigate the streets of Florida better than Thalion, though of course they had no idea what kind of skill and experience that requires. At one halt, the writer noticed her ball cap, still sitting on the dashboard where she had left it earlier that morning, and she could not resist a smile as she reached out and put it on.

"Is that for baseball?" Aragorn ventured to ask as he looked at the strange contraption.

"Indeed," the writer answered happily. "Today is Opening Day."

"Splendid," the ranger of the north affirmed with a grin. "This will work out perfectly."

Estel's expression grew concerned. "What will work out?"

"Well, the reason I've brought by beloved steward here is so that you can explain the depths of baseball to him."

Thalion almost slammed on the brakes, but she managed to only slightly swerve out of her lane and to choke on nothing. "Explain baseball?" she asked incredulously. "Whatever for?"

"Because Elessar has hardly ceased to speak of it since you first introduced it to him," Faramir answered cheerfully from his squished position in the backseat. "I felt I would be a more competent steward if I knew of all my king's affairs."

"And he's curious," Aragorn added with a chuckle. "Why would you _balk_ at the opportunity to enlighten him?"

"Because I'm an insanely busy college student with a life and homework," the exasperated writer answered. "Following the game today was going to be a great sacrifice which will cost me much sleep."

"Then you can just explain it while we watch," the ranger retorted stubbornly. "No time lost."

"But I was going to watch in my room," Thalion continued. "You know, so I wouldn't bother everyone else. But if you guys tag along, we'll have to sit obnoxiously in the kitchen for three whole hours! My roomies all secretly think my love of baseball is nuts, and that's only from the stuff I show them—the tip of the iceberg. If could read my prayer log during games, they wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry."

"Don't be silly," Aragorn said, "I'm sure they admire your faithfulness." Estel rolled her eyes but didn't bother to contradict her muse's nonsense. "And besides," he went on, "we are no poor guests; we will be as courteous as possible. When we leave, they shall be glad of our stay."

Thalion sighed and remained silent for a moment. She truly did love talking about baseball, and no one at school indulged her much. And she would definitely enjoy introducing her team to Faramir. Maybe this wouldn't be all that bad, as long as she made the guests explain everything themselves.

"Alright," she consented at last. "But you handle all the questions."

"Deal," the king agreed, sending Faramir a look of victory.

"Thank you," the steward added kindly and genuinely, a gesture that made the writer grin.

Finally, the trio reached the apartment. It did not even cross the writer's frayed mind to warn her guests about the state of the inside, and so it was that when they entered the small space, the two rulers were quite shocked.

"By the Valar," murmured the ranger of Ithilien. "When was this place last lived in?"

"Very funny," Estel remarked, though she knew the naïve steward was not trying to joke. He'd probably never seen a mess like this, but then again, he'd also probably never tried taking fulltime classes at a very difficult school.

"It's rare that anyone has time for dishes, it seems," the writer explained. "Cleaning only happens when we expect lots of guests."

Both rangers' noses wrinkled at the smell of rotten food and the sound of gnats buzzing about, but Thalion gave up making excuses. She knew they only had minutes left before someone arrived, so she tried her best to control the situation.

"Okay," she said, facing her muses and holding their gazes solemnly. "The game starts in about an hour. My roommates are going to be very confused, I have no doubt. Explain the impossibility of the situation however you want, just don't lie and don't lay this all on me. Don't be deceived by age—these are very smart girls, and I'm sure you can carry out reasonable conversations with them. You might even enjoy it."

"I am sure that we will," Faramir affirmed with a smile.

The fanfiction writer knew she ought to be present when her roommates began appearing, but she really didn't want to. Thinking up a good excuse, she quickly excused herself to her room to unpack and change clothes. She took as long as she could with these tasks, and so it was that when she emerged—clothed in her team's gear from head to toe—she saw that her attempt had been successful.

The two sisters who had spotted the party in the parking lot were busy with introductions, though from their amazed gazes, Estel supposed that they weren't retaining much of what Aragorn was saying. Not only were the clothes and appearances of the rangers very strange, but even non-fangirls have admitted that the two muses in question are fairly attractive. Thalion hardly ever noticed that sort of thing, but she was the oddity of the apartment in that regard (and most others, the poor nerd).

"…and Estel was kind enough to offer us hospitality for the evening," Aragorn was saying. "We hope our presence will not disturb your routines."

"No, you're fine," the older of the two sisters answered, waving off any other possibilities dismissively. "Do whatever you want."

"Yeah, we're used to company," the younger added.

Thalion breathed a sigh of relief and gave both her roomies a smile of gratitude as she brought her computer to the kitchen table and opened its cracked screen. She had no TV and no radio, so her only means of following games was through the gamecast which listed stats, players, and plays. No footage, but the writer was more than content.

For the next half hour, Estel pulled up pictures to explain the layout and rules of baseball as well as introduce the steward to several of her favorite players. Aragorn tuned in some of the time, but when another roommate arrived, he became sidetracked in conversation as he learned about what it's like to move from California to Florida, a topic which he understood surprisingly well. No one knows moving better than the legendary ranger of the north.

Just before the game began, Thalion quickly rummaged through her mounds of sports gear and produced enough to pass off her guests as fans. She handed the items to the rangers, who gave her quizzical looks but eventually complied. If they were going to watch Opening Day with her, they were going to do it right.

Dressed in red, white, and blue, the trio gathered around the writer's computer as the first pitch signaled the game's beginning. The screen loaded a "1" on the pitch count and displayed the place that the pitch had landed, and Thalion had a fangirl attack while the rangers suppressed smiles at her ridiculous behavior.

The numbers continued to change as pitches flew in and outs were recorded. Faramir seemed to have trouble understanding the excitement of this activity, but he was polite as Thalion acted like each shift in the numbers was a life or death situation. Aragorn chuckled a bit as he was entertained by Estel's antics, joined in his laugh by the roommate who was still talking with him.

"Does she always do this?" the king asked Thalion's roomie.

"It's not uncommon," the girl replied, smiling as Estel looked up and giggled.

"What's it mean for someone to have 'homered'?" Faramir inquired as Thalion's gaze snapped back to the computer and her expression fell.

"Ah!" cried the nerd, her hands clenching into fists. "Hamels!"

"Is that the name of our pitcher?" inquired Aragorn.

"Correct," the writer answered. "He's so good; I can't believe he's already allowed a homer in the first inning?"

"What's an inning?" Faramir asked.

"Who hit the home run? Who's up next?" called the ranger of the north.

Estel sighed. "One at a time!"

Just before she could begin answering the flurry of questions, the door opened and the final two roommates arrived, another pair of sisters. The younger of the two let out a small squeal as both men stood up respectfully at the ladies' entrance, but Aragorn was swift to issue forth the introductions and assurances as he had done before. The girls still looked shocked.

"You must tell us some of what your years at this school have taught you," Aragorn told the older sister, the only senior of the apartment. "I am sure our evening meal will provide much interesting conversation!"

"Um, Aragorn," Thalion almost interrupted. "What evening meal? I literally own three cans of beans, tortillas, cheese, and milk. Unless you've brought something, I can't cook for everybody."

The ranger seemed taken aback. "You mean you don't all eat together each night?"

"No…"

"Is this not a household, holding together those nearer than kin?" This was a sobering statement for everyone within earshot, and all it got out of Estel was a shrug.

"I can cook us dinner," one of the roommates offered. "You guys know I like cooking; what's a few extra plates at the table?"

"You don't have to do that," Thalion said, feeling a bit bad now at her own lack of effort. "I could order something—"

"No, I want to," the girl insisted. "It'll make for good bonding time for us anyway, just before the Easter break coming up."

Thalion gave a genuine smile of thanks, and as the girl summoned her sibling, they began to work on the meal while Aragorn moved to the sink to (thank the Valar!) wash some dishes. The two newest arrivals adjourned to their room, but only for a few moments before entering the living room to speak with the guests. The whole crew was gathered and no one was in complete shock or calling the cops; maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

"So, what's going on with the game?" the king asked as Estel returned her attention to the computer. "Aren't you ever going to answer my questions?"

"The homer was hit by Cano," Thalion informed her muse. "Man, he's got some power in that bat; I'd love it if he were on our side. Now the other team has good ole Nelson Cruz batting."

"Didn't he used to play for our team?"

"Yep. He hit the eleventh inning, walk-off grand slam in a 2011 playoff game; one of the best moments in our history."

"And wasn't he the one who missed catching the triple that lost us the World Series to that extremely evil team later in the season?"

Thalion's expression went from mildly amused to absolutely horrified, and several pairs of roommate eyes shot in her direction. None of her roomies were big baseball fans, but four of them held allegiance to the same team—the team to which Aragorn was referring. Darn muses.

"By the Valar!" Estel gasped. "Remember how we never speak of that event? And they're not evil, per se. They just—"

"But that's what you told me," the ranger insisted, apparently not noticing the predicament he has caused. "You said that they were just a bunch of—"

"I know, but that was from my perspective—the perspective of a fan whose hopes and dreams were maliciously shattered by that Morgoth-loving triple! It wasn't like the team was actually full of jerks. I mean, their manager was actually pretty nice from what I remember. They're not the ones who throw things at players or flip their bats or cuss out umpires."

"Wait, is there a team that actually does those things?" Faramir innocently inquired. "How disgraceful."

"Tell me about it," the writer said, frowning as her mind was sidetracked by bad memories. "Someone oughta sock 'em in the face," she murmured.

"Cruz struck out!" the steward declared gleefully, no doubt attempting to calm things down. "Now our team is going to come up!"

Aragorn turned on the sink water quite loudly to continue distraction from the previous conversation as he eyed the disturbed looks on the faces of the others girls, and the dark cloud dissipated slightly. Slowly, conversations began building, and the room eventually buzzed with stories and laughter. The game went on as Faramir picked up some rudimentary baseball knowledge, and dinner started to smell very good as the time for the meal drew nearer.

"I can't believe this," Thalion said, shaking her head in amazement as the game neared its halfway point. "One of the best pitchers in the world just walked our guy with the bases loaded: a free run. We're being given this game."

"That is kind of them," Faramir said happily. "I can't help but like this other team."

Estel grinned. "Me, too. So long as they stop hitting home runs against us, that is. Two is enough for one day."

"Tied!" Faramir exclaimed, showing some genuine excitement for the first time.

"That's our first hit of the day," the writer said with both joy and annoyance. "This hasn't been our most impressive performance."

"Dinner should be done in about ten minutes," one of Estel's roommates told the general crowd. "Can the game wait?"

It was a harder question than the girl had meant it to be, but Thalion was capable of using her phone to follow the score, so she consented with a nod. Her team graced her with another run just before the food was laid onto the table, so she supposed she could sacrifice a bit of time away. Besides, her team's being ahead meant that the lead was in jeopardy during every pitch, a situation that typically bred intense anxiety in the mega-fan.

The meal was quite pleasant with the two rangers speaking of their travels and asking many questions about the lives and learnings of the girls. Aragorn never mentioned their lordly positions, and he used given names rather than their formal ones, but Estel wasn't quite sure that the girls didn't know who they were actually talking to. Then again, even if any of them guessed, they'd hardly admit to themselves that they were seeing "fictional" characters. As it was, no matter what their thoughts were, the conversation was edifying and no difficult questions were asked. Aragorn and Faramir are, after all, very likeable.

The food was delicious, as per the usual from Thalion's skilled roommates, and the group did manage to squeeze all eight people around the table. Faramir cleared away the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher while Aragorn continued to learn about the proper Hebrew exegesis of Judges 11 from the senior. Estel returned her laptop to the table and began to watch the game again.

Despite her continual fear, nothing else happened during the game. Faramir sharpened his knowledge of baseball to the point that he actually understood some of what was going on, and Aragorn promised a wedding gift to the senior as she and her sister laid out the plans they were making for the coming event. The other roommates brought some of their textbooks into the living area and worked on their homework, occasionally chipping in on the discussions. Sometimes you don't need a lot in common to have a nice time.

"And that's that!" Estel declared excitedly, shutting her laptop and clapping her hands. "We won!"

"3-2?" Aragorn asked for clarification.

"Yep," the writer confirmed. "And we didn't earn any of it. I _almost_ wish the other team had won since they deserved it. Almost, but not quite."

Faramir grinned. "Baseball is a strange sport."

"But a good one," Aragorn stated. "Gondor could probably produce a decent team."

The steward laughed, but he didn't deny it. Before Thalion could fangirl about the prospect of a Middle-earth baseball event, her guests both stood together and bowed to their hostesses respectfully, clearly ready to go.

"We thank you so much for your hospitality," the king said politely.

"I feel greatly enriched by your company," Faramir agreed. "I desire to have the pleasure again someday."

"You're welcome," several of the girls chimed in.

"Farewell," the rangers bid, though not before Estel shook their hands and wished them well. The door closed with a soft thud, and the apartment was silent for the first time in several hours.

"Whew," the writer breathed. "Sorry for the short-notice. Thanks for being so awesome with them; y'all are the best."

"No problem, Texan," one girl said. "They were pretty chill."

"Yeah," her younger sister affirmed. "You've got some pretty legit friends."

"Indeed!" Estel laughed. "Indeed."

 **. . .**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading! I'd love to hear back from you if you'll take a moment to review. The muses are pretty quiet these days, but I bet I'll churn out another story or two before the summer is up. Be on the lookout!**


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